Laurel Broten

DURHAM -- Elementary public school teachers, some early childhood educators and other school staff plan to walk off the job Friday, shutting down public schools across Ontario, reports indicate.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is going through with the “one-day political protest” in response to the Liberal government imposing contracts on them on Jan. 3 under Bill 115.
“The minister (of education) made a deliberate and provocative choice to wipe out the democratic rights of tens of thousands of educators rather than work toward a respectful solution,” said ETFO president Sam Hammond in a press release.
“She could have taken our olive branch and waited for a new leader to try and find solutions, but she chose not to.”
He said more than 90 per cent of union members supported such job action in a December vote.
“This protest is aimed squarely at the government and education minister, not those school boards who pursued legal collective bargaining with our locals. It is shameful that the minister tied their hands with the limiting parameters of Bill 115. The government can prorogue the legislature but it can’t prorogue democracy,” Mr. Hammond added.
Reports of the action prompted Ontario PC education critic Lisa MacLeod to post on her Twitter account: “If ETFO walks off the job Friday, (education minister) Laurel Broten must respond to this illegal job action with the fullest extent of the law.
“The government has the authority to fine those participating in wildcat strikes.”
The minister has previously said that if teachers walk out during school hours, when they have a contract in place, that’s an illegal strike.
Union leaders have said in the past that a one-day “political protest” is legal, even if it is held on a school day.